


On a Butterfly's Wings

by Meg_Thilbo



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, One-Shot, bagginshield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meg_Thilbo/pseuds/Meg_Thilbo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t understand,” Thorin replied, turning to face Bilbo once more.</p><p>Bilbo took a deep breath before tearing his eyes off of the scene to meet Thorin’s gaze and explaining, “I believe the most interesting parts of our lives are the parts we don’t see..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	On a Butterfly's Wings

The park was quiet and calm, save for the few groups of people who walked under the Oak trees and the pigeons that clustered in groups around the benches, hoping for a crumb to fall. This was Bilbo’s favourite place to visit at the end of a long day, especially in autumn when the trees were decked in leaves of red and gold.

As a university student, the campus was always a hectic place to be and Bilbo just needed this quiet spot to himself, a place where he didn’t need to force a smile or put on a facade to please those around him. For just half an hour of his day, he could be himself.

Which was why, he was quite shocked to himself, when he had decided to invited one of his classmates to his spot. Thorin intrigued him, for the most part he kept to himself but Bilbo could see the cogs ticking away in his eyes as he observed those around him. It was a look Bilbo often fell into, a quiet brooding which others mistook for disinterest or a lack of feeling. So maybe it wasn’t all that suspiring that Bilbo had asked Thorin to join him when he’d suddenly asked Bilbo where he disappeared to after class.

They sat, side by side, on the bench, observing the world around them, although Bilbo could see Thorin growing fidgety, torn between taking part and engaging in conversation with Bilbo.

“What do you do here?” he asked, his eyes searching as though he was missing something important. But then, Bilbo knew that he was.

“I watch,” Bilbo replied simply with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Thorin frowned at him, “Watch what? There’s nothing happening.”

Bilbo smiled patiently, “Look at those two over there. What do you see?”

Thorin looked to where he was pointing, “A man is handing out leaflets and a woman took one from him and kept on walking,” he observed pointedly but he continued to frown, not understanding the exercise.

“And what don’t _they_ see?” Bilbo then asked him.

“I don’t understand,” Thorin replied, turning to face Bilbo once more.

Bilbo took a deep breath before tearing his eyes off of the scene to meet Thorin’s gaze and explaining, “I believe the most interesting parts of our lives are the parts we don’t see. We don’t see what would have happened should you not have befriended your closest friends, you don’t see what would have become of your parents if you had not been born, you don’t see what would have happened if you had not held the door open for that stranger who you never spoke to again and you don’t see what would have happened to all those people for who you have committed all those random acts of kindness, whether you knew it or not. That’s what I’m looking for, the little moments where lives are touched and changed. And people just carry on, they don’t even realise they’re missing a huge chunk of their life that is held in the smiles and tears of others. Maybe if they could see it, people would be happier. And maybe, just maybe, people would be kinder.”

A silence descended between them as Thorin processed his words, “So, those two people- they will have likely forgotten each other in five minutes but they will never see what changed in that tiny exchange.”

“Exactly,” Bilbo said softly, pleased that Thorin had understood his point, “People often assume that if they hadn’t existed, nothing of significance would have changed. But they forget the sheer multitude of people they touch every day by simply smiling or going to a shop and buying a coffee.”

“So, it’s like the butterfly effect?”

Bilbo hummed, “In a sense, yes. Every one of us changes something by simply being. We cannot even begin to suppose what effect that might be down the line- but I like to try,” he finished with a tender smile, thinking of everyone around him and the lives that they had. Sometimes it depressed him, for whilst there is joy in others lives, there is also pain and suffering which he couldn’t help but see as well. It was a cruel balance, which swung to and fro with some having more than their fair share of one side or the other.

“And what do you think the effect was of me coming here today?” Thorin asked, the question surprising Bilbo somewhat but he tried to form an answer regardless.

“Well... I would not be against you coming again... but for now, would you like to go and get some lunch?” Bilbo said tentatively, wishing to know more about Thorin now that he was part of the tiny world which he had built around him.

“I’d like that,” Thorin smiled and stood, holding out his hand to help Bilbo to his feet which Bilbo gladly took. His legs liked to go to sleep whilst his eyes and mind explored.

Bilbo could not guess where his path might go next from the simple act of inviting Thorin to the park with him, but he could imagine. And oh, it was a bright future which left a smile on his face and warmth in his chest which had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the hand that was still clasped in his.

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno, I just had to write this! I wouldn't usually write a fic this short but I didn't feel it should or needed to be longer for what I needed to write and say.   
> This is an exercise I like to do when I'm out and people-watching, I look for the random things which happen from someone picking up some litter to handing out leaflets and imagine what changed from that act. What is and what could have been. But not in a sad kind of way, well... not all the time at least. It reminds me that even the smallest things can have a big effect and that our lives are not simply dust particles blowing in the wind. 
> 
> Which is why I turned it into a bagginshield one-shot- the quote 'even the smallest person can change the course of the future' and Bilbo, to me, being characterised as an introvert playing on my mind when contemplating this. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you found that interesting and it all makes sense! :) let me know what you think!
> 
> Have a majestic day!
> 
> My tumblr: http://meg-thilbo.tumblr.com/


End file.
